Scary Occult Trappings

[TickTock Man]

This is a question for all you GM's and players out there.  When you are palying Sorcerer, lets say "naked" Sorcerer in this instance, do you give a bonus for the descriptive use of Occult trappings?  By this I mean the black granite altar, the cthulhoid mask, the sacrificial dagger, the ancient tome etc?  Do you think those sorts of things are the sort of thibng that would boost a sorcery roll or is it too cliche/ lacking ingenuity?

I guess the question really is, do you give a bonus for the genuine descriptive effort of the player, or do you require some ingenuity for a bonus, especially with regards to sorcery rolls?

It may be a matter decided by theme, or by the premise of hopw sorcery is assumed to work in your particular game, butI am inclined to allow a bonus if the player seems to be genuinely trying to add to the game, even if it is with the less ingenius use of occult trappings.

How about you?

-Angelo

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Angelo,

I let the rest of the group be my guide, as well as my responses which rely on my being part of the group.

In other words, I don't decide on bonus dice based on my role as GM, but on my role as a fellow participant. If we go "uh!" when a person contributes something, or if my or anyone's attention is focused by a gesture they make or a detail they add, then there you go.

You'll find that this reaction automatically scales to the person in question. If it's a shy person who never adds much, then when he or she does anything like this, everyone grunts or otherwise gives positive feedback. If it's a person who routinely Colors what he or she contributes, then only sometimes it's "grunt-worthy."

Using this concept as a GM also means that you need to be close to the other people in terms of how they respond emotionally and aesthetically. One person might stay quiet, smile, look a little abstracted, and breathe in slowly. Another might make a fist and gesture. No matter what, there will always be a little "tremor" around the people at the right moments when someone deserves a bonus die or two.

People who try to check off lists in order to get bonus dice are boring in play. "I do this, I do that, I do this, I do that, then I hit him" - it's just stunting and stotting. Meaningless Color is like a spilled paintbox, it just makes a mess. Tune in emotionally, develop your participatory sense of enthusiasm, and breathe in what others contribute.

The GM in Sorcerer has all the fun - you get to play the demons, you get to bathe in everyone's imaginative contribution, and you don't have to write or script a goddamn thing. Just Bang'em, play the NPCs, bring in the pressure in every way. They make the story.

Best,
Ron

[ejh]

Heh.  This was my most distinctive memory of the one time I played a demo with Ron -- when he assigned bonus dice based on the table's reaction to something I said, and pointed out that reaction and that he had done so.  That was cool.

Ron, you need to write an article just about that kind of interpersonal mindfulness.  I don't know if it's something that can be taught, but you're crazy enough to think that good roleplaying in general can be articulated, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. ;)